Aparicio 1

Aparicio, Natalie
John Kubler
English 115
6 September 2014
Imagine
Mr. Lennon, Im sorry to say that I disagree with your Imagine lyrics. I see what you
are trying to accomplish in this song, but I believe that a world with no heaven, hell,
countries, possessions, and religion would be a very melancholy, insignificant, robotic
universe. I question if you have bothered to seek anothers point of view on your song,
Imagine. It seems you havent considered the negative consequences of the world coming
together as one. I suggest you take my point of view into consideration: the world would be
meaningless without any diversity.
In your song, you praise unity and imagination upon our world. In your first verse, you
encourage us to imagine a world where theres no heaven (1). A world without heaven or hell
would not have any balance. There would be no difference between good and evil. People would
have nothing to live for, to die for. A world without religion equals a world without morals, no
forgiveness, no hope, no sense of understanding one another. As Faith and Diplomacy writer,
Madeleine Albright, states . . . that we see spiritual matters as a subject worth studying (35).
Albright is exhorting us to realize that learning to understand others beliefs and cultures is key
to a peaceful society. I extol her words because it is true. If we would all try to comprehend each
others beliefs we would appreciate one another because we would know why they do certain
things.

Aparicio 2
You speak on a world without countries which means that there would be no diversity. I
cannot begin to imagine what the humane world would be like if there werent any diversity. We
would be like walking robots with no laws or morals to abide by. People would realize that they
dont have any laws to follow, so they will seek their own set of rules and power. Power doesnt
always have a positive outcome. Take a look at Adolf Hitler and what he did with his power, he
killed millions of people. Others who negatively used their power are Joseph Kony, Mao
Zedong, and many, many more. Each of these men have dehumanized and tortured so many
innocent people [and children] and the way these innocent people made it through all that
torment was with hope and forgiveness.
You advocate a world where there is nothing to kill or die for (1) and that means a
world without hope and forgiveness which is what many people live by. Albrights essay
discusses her colleague, Bob Seiple, and his experience with a young Christian woman whose
village was invaded by Muslim militia. While she was trying to escape, she tripped and fell facefirst. One of the Muslim militia saw her, had her gunpoint and ordered her to Renounce the
cross or die. She rejected I was born a Christian . . . I will die a Christian (37). Seiple later
asks the young woman how she felt about the man who shot her. She implored I have forgiven
him . . . . I forgave him because my God forgave me. Its as simple as that (37). The young
woman forgave the man even though what he did was treacherous. Without any forgiving, the
world would continue on with the back and forth violence and never seek peace. This example
shows how religion helps people overcome very tough obstacles all through their faith in
whoever their Creator is.
Diversity makes the world a better place. We are able to learn from one another. There
are so many different cultures and religions among us and those are the things that make us

Aparicio 3
unique. A world with no existence of religion or possession doesnt mean there wont be any
conflict. I wouldnt want to imagine the world you sing about. I rather stick to the democratic
world we do have and instead of abolishing all the things you say, we should understand and
learn about the different cultures and beliefs of others. We will be able to come together as one
if we are able to learn more about one another. There will be more peace to life. There will be
more unity. There will be more respect. This is why I disagree with your song, Mr. Lennon. I
hope you take my reasons into consideration. Thank you for your time.